Radio and Genocide

Radio's role in the Rwandan Genocide is the subject of a research paper by David Yanagizawa for Stockholm University. I first came across this in a January 14, 2010 post on the New York Times' "Freakonomics" blog.

That broadcasting can play a role in fomenting violence is a concept virtually as old as the medium, and skillful propagandists exploited radio in support of their respective aims in nearly every 20th century conflict. However, I can't recall any previous research in this field as thorough as Yanagizawa's work appears to be.